Frank Ordonez/The Post-Standard, file photo, 2009. Mark Paul Serafin, who is mayor of the village of Manlius, is donating $450 to a local charity in a voluntary effort to resolve questions over a STAR property tax break he took on a Syracuse home that he wasn't eligible to take. Taking the tax exemption saved him $4,500.

Manlius Village Mayor Mark-Paul Serafin will make a $450 donation to a Syracuse charity in an effort to resolve questions over a STAR property tax break he received that he wasn’t eligible to take.

For 10 years, Serafin received the tax exemption worth about $4,500 for a home he owned at 418 Lodi St. in Syracuse, a tax break that’s only available if you own and live in a home. The Post-Standard revealed that the mayor got a tax break in an article published in March.

During the decade he got the tax break, Serafin was registered to vote in Manlius and declared his residence as his mother’s home. He also voted in every election in Manlius but one.

Serafin has said taking the exemption was “a clerical error.” He said he simply forgot to tell the city that he had moved and wasn’t eligible for the tax break.

Syracuse officials have said it’s not uncommon for people to forget to remove the STAR exemption when they move and the city doesn’t penalize people unless it’s clearly an intentional violation.

David Clifford, commisioner of the city's assessment department, said Serafin did offer over the telephone to pay back the city, but there is no mechanism for him to do that since the city is reimbursed through the state.

Serafin lawyer's, Tom Cerio, said the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office concluded there wasn’t enough merit to the complaint to warrant an investigation.

Cerio said he proposed Serafin make a good-will gesture and donate $450 to a charity in the city of Syracuse, and the parties involved agreed. McMahon/Ryan Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to end child abuse through education and intervention.

The mayor is not admitting any wrongdoing on his part, his lawyer said.